In 1920s Hamburg, a dancer couple created wild, Expressionist costumes that looked like retro robots and Bauhaus knights.
archives
Illustrated Guides to Camping Like an Early-20th-Century American
The Rare Book Room of the New York Academy of Medicine Library in East Harlem has a trove of printed materials connected to camping and outdoor recreation in the early 1900s.
Too Fragile to Open, World’s Oldest Multicolor Printed Book Is Digitized
The 17th-century Manual of Calligraphy and Painting (Shi zhu zhai shu hua pu) is so fragile that until digitization no one was allowed to open it.
MoMA Is Archiving Its Exhibition Websites Before They Expire
Soon over 200 exhibition websites for the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), going back to its first web experiments in 1995, will be totally archived, from their images to their code.
New York’s Oldest Museums: Where Are They Now?
Old NYC, a project by software engineer Dan Vanderkam, launched last month with thousands of images from the New York Public Library mapped across the five boroughs.
Broadsides for Broadband: Digitizing the People’s Literature of the 17th Century
Considered the “people’s literature” in the 17th century, broadside ballads were sold for a penny or halfpenny, their pairing of a comic or satiric song alongside a woodblock illustration making them popular bawdy amusement across classes.
The Radical Art of Archiving Performance, as Practiced by Martha Wilson
The day after I went to go see the Martha Wilson: Downtown and Performing Franklin Furnace exhibitions in New York City, a friend brought me to a lecture-performance by Carolee Schneemann at a raw gallery space in Tribeca run by Hunter College.
In Readers’ Hands, Archives Find New Contexts
Now more than ever archives are in a transition, one that offers an opportunity for new potential at a time when there’s nostalgia for old, dusty cardboard boxes.
On the Brink of Extinction, an Indigenous Language Gets Its First Dictionary
Despite their important role in strengthening cultures and communities, languages are fragile things.
Four Million Images from the World’s Endangered Archives
Despite the vast and growing resources available online, much of the world’s knowledge and history remains ephemeral and under threat of disappearance.
Emma Goldman Papers Project Faces Uncertain Future
The 34-year-old Emma Goldman Papers Project is in limbo after losing its affiliation with UC Berkeley and running through its funding.
British Library Says 6.5 Million Sounds Are in Jeopardy
Last week, the British Library launched a £40m ($60m) crowdfunding initiative to preserve its archive of over six million sound recordings.